Technology Adoption Rates Research Articles

Exploring factors influencing technology adoption rate at the macro level: A predictive model

Technology adoption is crucial to economic growth, yet levels of technology adoption vary, with limited adoption in many countries. Countries wield considerable technology adoption power and their adoption activities can be leveraged to achieve social, economic, and environmental goals by endorsing specific technologies. To encourage greater adoption, it is vital to determine the predictors of technology adoption to design effective promotion policies, accomplished through the modification of Diffusion of Innovation theory. While there is substantial research in individual consumer adoption behavior, less is known about country level factors that impact technology adoption. To overcome these gaps in the research, we undertook an investigative study to better understand the predictors of a country's technology adoption rate. We use a random effects panel model to predict technology adoption factors for a sample of 15 countries over the period of 2010–2019 using secondary datasets. We identify a statistically significant effect of competitiveness, cybersecurity, ease of doing business, and the level of political stability/non-violence and terrorism. We thus posit that a country that is highly competitive, has enhanced cybersecurity, is easy to do business in, and has a low level of political violence and terrorism adopts new technologies more readily than others.

Impact Evaluation of Agriculture Technology Adoption: A Primary Data Analysis

The primary objective of the study is the assessment and impact evaluation of improved and new agriculture technology adoption on farmers’ income level in the region (Faisalabad). There are seven technologies used in the study to assess technology adoption impact. A micro panel primary data (206-07 & 2018-19) has been used. The propensity score is estimated and matched for average treatment effects (ATE) to analyze income effect. The assessment of technology adoption is observed using logistic approach for pooled data. The technology poverty index is used to measure the level of farmer technology adoption rate. The results indicate that these technologies have positive and significant role on farmers’ poverty and income level in the study area. The used improved technologies for the current showed positive and significant role in the farmers’ income determination. These agriculture technologies have an important role in increasing farmer income and welfare in the study area. The study recommends that more incentives to be announced to develop and promote improved technologies for adoption. The provision of these technologies may increase farmers’ income level as well as food security by engaging in other income-generating activities.

Use of agricultural technology, yields and economic profitability of small-scale producers (Coffea arabica L.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between use of agricultural technology and levels of crop yield and profitability of coffee farmers (Coffea arabica L.) en Puebal and Oaxaca, Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: The field work was carried out in the Mazateca region of Oaxaca and the Cuetzalan region of Puebla, in 2019. The data were gathered by applying a survey, using a statistical sample, with 95% confidence and accuracy of 6% of the average coffee yields. Results: The profitability (BCR) was 0.90, which means that for each invested peso, 0.10 pesos were lost, that is, 10% of the investment. For Puebla farmers, the RBC was 1.0 and for Oaxaca producers, 0.81. The BCR of the producers that sold as parchment coffee was 1.16 for those from Cuetzalan and 1.04 for those from the Mazateca region. The group of producers that have high TUI have a different average yield and profitability than the average of the groups of producers that have medium and low TUI. The explanatory variables of yield and profitability are the TUI, the size of the PU, and human capital. Study Limitations/Implications: This study, in a next stage, could benefit from estimating the rate of technology adoption and the training needs of coffee farmers. Conclusions: Due to the positive effect of TUI and HC on yields and profitability, these can be part of public policy interventions to improve coffee growing.

Evaluating farmers\u2019 perception toward the effectiveness of agricultural extension services in Ghana and Zambia

BackgroundIn this study, we present the current situation and the role of agricultural extension services for farmers and indicates the potential solutions for the optimum effectiveness of these services. Thus, we investigate the vital determinants influencing the farmers’ attitudes toward using agricultural extension services in Ghana and Zambia.MethodsIn this study, we used a mixed-method research analysis of data from a household survey of 240 farmers and 8 key informant interviews in the Upper West Region of Ghana and the Southern Province of Zambia.ResultsThe significant factors affecting the association of agricultural extension officers with farmers are regular meetings, demand for services and productivity, and the adoption rate of technology. Notably, approaches based on information communication technology indicators include owning cell phones; further, having radio access significantly affects agricultural practices. However, the role of gender, access to credit, and owning a television would influence food safety and nutrition.ConclusionsUnderstanding the critical determinants will provide potential solutions to national agricultural research institutes, private research entities, and policymakers to scale-up the effectiveness of agricultural extension services, particularly in Ghana and Zambia.

Impact of farmer field schools on agricultural technology extension—evidence from greenhouse vegetable farms in China

ABSTRACT Agricultural extension is a key instrument to bridge the gap between new technologies and farmers. As a popular extension approach, farmer field schools (FFS) usually improve farmers’ knowledge and crop productivity. This study aims to quantify the heterogeneous impact of FFS on the cognition and adoption of multiple new agricultural technologies. In this study, we apply Tobit models to estimate the impact of FFS on technology extension regarding farmers’ cognition and adoption rates of different technologies, using data collected for 274 tomato and cucumber farm households in Beijing, China. We find that the FFS programmesignificantly increased farmers’ cognition and adoption of new agricultural technologies. We also find that the effects of FFS on extension vary in different categories of new technology. Particularly, we find that the extension of facility technologies is difficult, and new varieties are easy to disseminate but difficult to adopt by farmers. We conclude that FFS is an important channel for the extension of new agricultural technologies. At the same time, attention should be paid to the design of the FFS programme, adjusting to the attribute of different technologies.

A STUDY OF ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF USING TELE HEALTH SERVICES AMONG COLLEGE GOING STUDENTS OF UTTARAKHAND

Tele medicine or Tele health services are available in the world before 1970. Recent surge has been observed in the tele medicine during Covid 19. It is observed that tele health services usage has increased from 11% to 70% and the satisfaction level among the patients is around 78% in US and China. As per the Press information bureau report, in India around 35000 patients use E Sanjeevni portal for tele health services. The purpose of the study is to assess the knowledge perception and attitude towards tele health services by the students because they are young generation and their adoption rate of technology and skill set in technology is very high. A questionnaire was floated through Google forms to students of various colleges in Uttarakhand primarily in the district of Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital. Around 1000 students were targeted through their Gmail accounts and WhatsApp groups. It was found that there is lack of awareness among students about telemedicine apps and related aspects; there perception towards it is positive as they want to use it as well as willing to refer it as well. It is concluded that telehealth services can be boon for a state like Uttarakhand as the health infrastructure is poor in the state because of its geography. If the organization providing telehealth services will try to improve awareness, the willingness to adapt telehealth services will be very high.

Does the gender of farmers matter for improving small ruminant productivity? A Kenyan case study

A major constraint faced in implementing sheep and goat improvement programs in low input systems is the limited involvement of the pastoral livestock keepers. Gender dynamics represent strong determinants of pastoral livestock management practices but are however very rarely integrated in livestock improvement programs. This research adopts a gendered lens to explore sheep and goat breeding management, ownership and trait preferences. Using a qualitative approach ten gender disaggregated focus group discussions with 121 participants were conducted with beneficiaries from a USAID supported Accelerated Livestock Value Chain Development Project for livestock improvement in Kenya’s low input systems. The results show that availability of sheep and goat breeding stock are directly influenced by gendered allocations of management activities. Despite women’s contribution to sheep and goat management, men were perceived to exercise a greater variety of ownership rights compared to women, especially regarding decision-making over sheep and goat breeding. While sheep and goat trait preferences were similar for men and women the order of trait prioritisation was gendered according to divisions of labour and decision-making opportunities and constraints. The results demonstrate that gender dynamics in specific areas of sheep and goat husbandry in low input systems can influence breeding outcomes in different ways. Contributing to filling an important knowledge gap and supplementing existing literature, the study recommends the adoption of a gendered approach when introducing or strengthening productivity improvement practices. Strategies to ensure that sheep and goat improvement practices are not only relevant but compatible with the preferences of men and women are therefore considered more likely to improve technology adoption rates.

Sikap Toleransi Petani Tomat Dan Tingkat Adopsi Teknologi Usahatani Tomat

Tomato is one of the vegetable commodities in the horticulture sub-sector and is widely cultivated in Indonesia. Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah Regencies are the largest tomato producing centers in Aceh Province. The purpose of this study is to determine what technology is used by tomato farmers in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah Districts, to find out tomato farmers with high technology adoption rates are more tolerant or not of tomato farming risks which were analyzed using qualitative descriptive and crosstabulation. The results showed that the tolerance attitude of tomato farmers who used technology in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah Regency was included in the high category, namely dare to take risks and having more than two efforts in overcoming the risks of tomato farming. The technologies applied by tomato farmers in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah Regencies are superior seeds, cultivation techniques according to recommendations, vegetable pesticides, integrated pest control, mulch, hand tractors, sprayers, irrigation, ponds, and packaging technology. Tomato farmers who have a high level of technology adoption are more tolerant in facing the risks of tomato farming.

Socio-Economic Profile of the Dairy Industry in Cagayan Valley: Potential Users of Green Technology

Dairy farming plays a vital role in the social and economic livelihood of the farmer households and cooperatives in the Cagayan Valley. For the adoption of new technologies such as greening technology in dairy production, profiling of the dairy farm is an important factor in developing the assessment of the viability of the green tech to be adopted by the farmers as a means to increase their productivity and efficiency in farming. By considering this aspect, the study was undertaken in the Cagayan Valley and the respondents were purposively selected. There were four cooperatives that represented the region, while 10 farmer households were also randomly selected. The data was collected using a predesigned interview schedule on-farm/site. Key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussion (FGD) will be the means of gathering relevant information. The collected data was analysed using basic descriptive statistical methods such as frequency, percentage, proportions, average, and rating. The results indicate that the majority of the dairy farmers in the Cagayan Valley belonged to the aged group, with an average age of 54 and above, with a degree in college, and a high income of up to P15,001-above/monthly, which represents the large and medium-sized families. The majority of dairy farmers had at least 5 years of experience using green technology, and 60% of them had both cattle and carabao as dairy farm animals. The adoption rate of green technology using vermicomposting and using solar panels by both categories of respondents reveals that there is a potential market expansion for the implementation of green technology for the dairy farming industry and for further improvement of the socio-economic status of the farmers and their stakeholders, which may lead to their embracing green tech culture. Adequate research and a contribution from the NGO's and government in this sector are essential to improve the living conditions of the farmers in Cagayan Valley.

Socioeconomic status, ambidextrous learning, and farmers' adoption of biological control technology: evidence from 650 kiwifruit growers in China.

Rural China is characterized as having different rates of economic growth. The resource and socioeconomic statuses of farm households greatly affect their productivity and the activities they engage in. The main objective in this study was to explore the mechanisms concerning how socioeconomic status of kiwifruit growers affects their adoption of biological control technology (BCT). To achieve this objective, field survey data from 650 kiwifruit farmers in specific kiwifruit growing areas of Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces in China were investigated. The binary probit model and Bootstrap dual mediated utility models served to assess socioeconomic status's effect on farmers' BCT adoption. This study discovered a significant positive correlation between socioeconomic status and the adoption rate of biological control technology. Farmers of various socioeconomic status have significant differences in the rate of BCT adoption. This study's empirical analysis found that exploratory learning and exploitative learning under dual learning had a significant mediating effect on farmers' socioeconomic status when it came to BCT acceptance. Results show that the rate of BCT adoption is related to farmers' socioeconomic status and dual learning mode, which provides new insights for understanding how farmers implement new technology. This study will help agricultural extension departments increase their awareness of BCT adoption by farmers, and the development of diverse learning approaches in response to differences in socioeconomic status of farmers may significantly increase their likelihood to implement BCT. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF ADOPTION AND INNOVATION OF THE PORTABLE BANKING TECHNOLOGY IN KENYA

The study investigated the appropriateness of innovation diffusion in understanding and explaining the adoption rate and acceptability of portable bank technology in Kenya through the assessment of the factors that influence the adoption of portable banking technology. The study employed a sample of 115 portable bank technology adopters based on a purposive sampling technique and tested the five attributes of innovations, namely relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. The study found that relative advantage, compatibility, Trialability, and observability positively impact adoption. Trialability and complexity were found to have a lesser significant effect on adoption. Complexity hurts adoption. More specifically, the regression model revealed that compatibility is the most significant determinant of adopting portable bank technology with t=4.21 and p ≤ 0.001. Trialability has a significant positive impact on adoption with t= 4.27 and p ≤ 0.001. Observability has a high explanatory value with t = 4.45 and p ≤ 0.001. Relative advantage has returned a positive explanatory coefficient at t=4.50 and p ≤ 0.001. Finally, Complexity had no significant impact on the adoption of portable banking technology. The study has uncovered useful trends in portable bank technology adoption in Kenya. The study recommended that future research should focus on broader variables and carry out comparative studies on both homogeneous and heterogeneous settings to gauge the net effect of technical attributes on technology adoption.

Disruptive innovation in agriculture: Socio-cultural factors in technology adoption in the developing world

The low rate of technology adoption has long been a key constraint on improving productivity, income and yields in farming, particularly in developing countries where market-based systems of production are not well developed, the subsistence economy remains strong, land is held under communal tenure and family labour is the backbone of production. We examine four case studies of technology adoption to explore key socio-economic factors facilitating or constraining adoption. Our case studies cover an array of adoption situations from different parts of the developing world:1. The socio-cultural barriers to the adoption of new technologies to control Cocoa Pod Borer in Papua New Guinea;2. The role of land pressure on differential adoption rates of cocoassie yams amongst ethnic groups in Ivory Coast;3. Past agricultural practices and their influence on adoption of a new planting pattern and selected oil palm planting material in Cameroon;4. Taking account of gender relations to facilitate successful adoption of a new oil palm initiative for women smallholders in Papua New Guinea.

Early adopters versus the majority: Characteristics and implications for academic development and institutional change

The diffusion of innovation curve has become common parlance when considering the adoption of technology-enhanced learning in higher education. Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards indicate the different rates of technology adoption. This study explored the views and experiences of staff at one research-led institution within one of four colleges, to determine whether there were differences between the characteristics and digital academic practices of teachers, based on their self-identification as one of the five types in a questionnaire. Subsequently, two focus groups allowed comparisons between early adopters and early majority.
 The questionnaire found differences in terms of using a VLE to foster deep thinking through discussion, teachers’ digital practices and attributes, previous engagement with developmental TEL opportunities, perceived level of support from management, and perceived usefulness of CPD events. Focus groups revealed qualitative differences in terms of the amount of time participants invested in learning new technologies, sources of TEL support, preference for different types of academic development, and how they engaged with exemplars in their own or other disciplines.
 In addition to recommendations for different types of academic development for different groups, the study highlighted the importance of early adopters in leading digital practice. Institutions need to recognise and support the unique contribution made by early adopters. They contribute to the resilience, agility and digital capabilities of an institution in responding to rapid changes, such as the Covid19 pandemic, in terms of supporting and leading other staff, and prompting the institution to expand its digital education infrastructure.

Impact of Training on Livestock Technology Transfer for Rural Poor Farmers Livelihood Improvement in Bangladesh

The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of training facilitated by Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP) under Social Development Foundation (SDF) for transfer livestock technologies and livelihood improvement for rural poor farmers in Bangladesh. A total of 650 farming households were selected by baseline survey during January 2018 to June 2018.The training and non-training beneficiaries were primary level educated and their family size (4.52) was little lower than the national average (4.9). Average age was 36.73 and 35.12 years for training and non-training farmers, respectively. The rate and amount of loan was found higher with respondent received training than without training. Adoption rate of technologies was higher than the level of idea on the concept of housing, feeding, breeding and marketing. The training beneficiaries improved knowledge and skill on feeding, management and health care of livestock and poultry. Training and demonstration are considered two strong tools for adoption and dissemination of livestock technology. Herd and flock size was increased by training beneficiaries than non-training beneficiaries. Beneficiaries having training on various IGAs have expanded their land and asset possession to a greater extent compared to non-training beneficiaries. Housing and sanitation condition of training beneficiaries were higher than non-training beneficiaries. Increased annual income of training and non-training households was 19.43% and 13.30% where income from different IGAs of livestock was 32.19% and 14.53%, respectively. Livestock were not extremely price sensitive but more sensitive on non-price factors logistic support like institutional support, quality of input and availability of input. Thus, training was treated as vital tools for transfer livestock technologies to influence the poor farmer’s livelihood improvement of training household than non-training household. SAARC J. Agric., 19(1): 223-235 (2021)

How does adoption of labor saving agricultural technologies affect intrahousehold resource allocations? The case of push-pull technology in Western Kenya

Considerable research documents why women farmers have lower technology adoption rates than men farmers, but relatively little is known about what happens within a household after technology uptake. This study contributes through an investigation of the intrahousehold distribution of benefits and costs of agricultural technology adoption in western Kenya. Using gender-disaggregated data and an endogenous switching regression approach, we elucidate the causal effects of push pull technology (PPT) adoption on intrahousehold labor and expenditure allocation. Results show that adoption increases household labor allocation for harvesting of maize, the staple crop, but reduces the labor required for other tasks (e.g., ploughing and weeding). In net, the technology is labor saving, with men experiencing a slightly greater workload reduction than women. In terms of expenditure impacts, PPT uptake increases household expenditures on children’s education and consumption goods commonly associated with female preferences. Study findings support wider uptake of PPT to trigger gains in social and economic wellbeing for both men and women farmers. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The income equality dividend in ‘green’ infrastructure: Evidence from the transport and waste sectors in the OECD

As it is exemplified by the Sustainable Development Goals, countries are expected to advance towards both decreasing environmental harmfulness and reducing income inequality. However, although debates can be found on how to succeed in each of these two challenges, less is known about how income distribution is affecting environmental achievements. In this article, the authors propose the concept of an ‘income equality dividend’ regarding adoption of sustainable modes within infrastructure networks in high income countries. Evidence is provided to show that more egalitarian countries do better adopting mature environmental technologies within infrastructure networks, such as municipal recycling and railway passenger transport. Panel data from the OECD, covering between 1996 and 2013, shows that the adoption rates of these environmental technologies are higher in countries with more egalitarian income distributions. The use of instrumental variables allows to prove that the link is exogenous. In addition, adoption of mature environmental technologies seems to respond more strongly to changes in the income shared by different groups, depending on the sector. While railway passenger transport is more strongly linked to changes in shares of the bottom 40 per cent and the top 10 per cent, municipal recycling is linked to income shares by the upper half of the bottom 40 per cent, and not affected at all by the share of the rich. The income equality dividend can be explained both due to changes in consumer behaviour on the demand side, and to institutional factors reflected by income distribution, on the supply side.

NONGSA DIGITAL PARK (NDP) INVESTMENT AS A COOPERATION IN THE DIGITAL SECTOR BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND INDONESIA IN BATAM

The digital economy is growing rapidly in the era of globalization in line with the advancement of the internet and technology. In the digital world, all economic sectors become connected, so that all countries strive to develop innovation through technological adaptation to take advantage of the opportunities of the digital economy. The digital sector greatly affects other economy sectors and will be an asset in the future. Investment in the digital sector requires improving resource capabilities and developing new and greater information technologies. Singapore is currently classified as advanced which means it has a very high adoption rate of technology and information, but has limited domestic consumption, while Indonesia has a large digital market with the most dynamic economic growth in Southeast Asia but has uneven technology. Batam is supported by contributions from integrated industrial areas and its strategic location is chosen as a digital park location for both countries. Digital cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia through NDP investment in Batam aims to adopt technology in accelerating the movement of digital economy.

Post-Emergence Herbicides for Effective Weed Management, Enhanced Wheat Productivity, Profitability and Quality in North-Western Himalayas: A ‘Participatory-Mode’ Technology Development and Dissemination

‘Participatory-mode’ adaptive research was conducted in wheat in north-western Himalayas (NWH) during 2008–2014 to develop an improved chemical weed management (ICWM) technology. First of all, two years ‘on-farm experimentation’ was performed in a randomized block design at 10 locations in NWH using seven treatments (Clodinafop @ 60 g a.i./ha (Clod); Clod followed by 2,4-D (Na-salt) @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha (Clod-fb-D); Isoproturon 75 WP @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha (Iso); Iso + D; Sulfosulfuron 75% WG @ 25 g a.i./ha + Metsulfuron 5% WG @ 2 g a.i./ha (Sulf + Met); weed-free-check; and un-weeded-check). In this study, the post-emergence application of Sulf + Met reported the lowest weed-index and NPK depletion by weeds with higher weed control efficiency (86.4%), weed control index (81.1%) and herbicide efficiency index (2.62) over other herbicides. Sulf + Met exhibited significantly higher wheat productivity (3.57 t/ha), protein yield, net-returns and water-productivity, which was followed by Iso + D and Clod-fb-D, all of which remained statistically at par with each other. An impact assessment of intensive technology-transfer programme (2008–2014) revealed a higher technology adoption rate (71–98%) of ICWM leading to higher wheat productivity (~22%) and net income gains (2.8–26.4%) in NWH. Overall, Sulf + Met proved highly effective against mixed weed flora in wheat to boost wheat productivity, profitability, quality and water productivity in addition to a higher technology adoption rate and NIGs to transform rural livelihoods in NWH.

The Importance of Network Position in the Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Smallholders of Dual-Purpose Cattle in Mexico

The dual-purpose bovine production system (DP) is the most widespread small-scale model in Latin American tropics, where it constitutes a key tool in terms of food security. Most DPs are subsistence farms oriented to self-consumption, with a very low technology adoption rate. Hence, the main challenge is how to improve the technological level without compromising the system sustainability by applying land-sharing practices. Thus, through networks methodology, this paper analysed how farmers adopt reproductive technologies. The sample consisted of 383 very small farms of dual-purpose cattle. Seven reproduction technologies oriented to improve reproductive efficiency were evaluated: Breeding soundness evaluation in bulls, semen fertility evaluation, evaluation of female body condition, oestrus detection, pregnancy diagnosis, seasonal or continuous mating, and breeding policy. Social Network Analysis (SNA) allowed identifying adoption patterns, as the joint adoption of semen fertility evaluation, estrus detection, and pregnancy diagnosis, which were consider complementary technologies. Similarly, breeding soundness evaluation in bulls was found to be the most widely adopted technology. The results showed that these farmers presented a very low level of reproduction technology adoption rate and suggested that farmer’s affiliation with organizations such as the Livestock Groups for Technological Validation and Transfer (GGAVATT), and its network position had a significant impact on the level of technological adoption. In the first stage of adoption, this work highlighted the importance of centralized models from the GGAVATT to the farmers, related to the knowledge and absorption dynamic capabilities. In a later stage, decentralized models through technological leaders are a priority, related to integration and innovation dynamic capabilities.

Video Convergence: Factors Affecting Photojournalists’ Satisfaction and Adoption

A survey of visual journalists (N = 132) shooting online video finds that factors affecting photojournalists’ satisfaction and perceptions of quality are related to training and experience. As still and video convergence continues, overall, more than half of visual journalists surveyed are satisfied shooting online video. Survey respondents with more video training had higher satisfaction recording video and perceptions of quality in their shooting. However, less than half of respondents had combined still photography and video shooting on assignment some or all of the time—showing a low rate of video technology adoption and combination with the still photography skill set. Of that, a majority showed dissatisfaction with shooting both stills and video. Findings are discussed in regard to diffusion of innovations theory.